A conventional monitoring/management system that simply collects log information such as operation information, error information, and the like associated with a given apparatus in an office is present. Also, a system for collecting information collected in the office in a center server equipped/connected outside the office via a network, and monitoring/managing the collected information is present. However, such management/monitoring systems monitor/manage only a PC/server system, i.e., versatile computers, or only a device system such as a printer, copying machine, and the like.
The reason why versatile computers and devices are independently managed is that sequences and the like for managing them are different from each other. That is, a versatile computer can be managed by creating a program that provides a required function in accordance with an environment such as its operating system or the like, and running it on the computer to be managed. However, since it is nearly impossible to add or change functions of peripheral devices in practice, and there are no standards in information required upon management such as data formats to be exchanged with peripheral devices, exchange sequences, and the like, a corresponding management sequence must be developed for each peripheral device, and individual peripheral devices are connected to corresponding management sites and are managed. In this manner, a device management system is alien to a versatile computer management system, and the two systems are present independently.
For this reason, these two systems must be equipped to monitor both the PC/server system and device system, and the system scale increases, resulting in complicated management, and expensive systems and high maintenance cost. Since independent systems must be used, a user site and supervisor site must be connected via different lines.
Furthermore, when the two systems are equipped, a supervisor must monitor office equipments via the two management systems, resulting in very troublesome operations.